The Koran/The Q'uran by Mohammed/Mohammad/Muhamad/Muhammad/Mohomet

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if the people of the Book had believed, it had surely been better forthem! Believers there are among them, but most of them areperverse.

They will never inflict on you but a trifling damage; and if they dobattle with you, they shall turn their backs to you: then they shallnot be succoured.

Shame shall be stamped upon them36 wherever found, unless theyally them with God and men! And the wrath of God will theyincur,and poverty shall be stamped upon them! This for that theybelieved not in the signs of God, and slew the prophets unjustly:This because they rebelled, and became transgressors.

Yet all are not alike: Among the people of the Book is an uprightfolk, who recite the signs of God in the night-season, and adore:

They believe in God and in the latter day, and enjoin justice, andforbid evil, and speed on in good works. These are of therighteous.

And of whatever good ye do, ye shall not be denied the meed. Godknoweth those who fear Him.

But as for the infidels, their wealth, and their children shall availthem nothing against God. They shall be the inmates of the fire, toabide therein eternally.

The alms which they bestow in this present life, are like a freezingwind, which falleth upon and destroyeth the cornfields of a peoplewho have been to themselves unjust. God doeth them no injustice,but to themselves are they unjust.

O ye who have believed! form not intimacies among others thanyourselves. They will not fail to corrupt you. They long for yourruin. Hatred hath already shewn itself out of their mouths, butmore grievous is what their breasts conceal. The tokens thereof wehave already made plain to you, if ye will comprehend.

See now! ye love them, but they love not you. Ye believe the entireBook. And when they meet you, they say, "We believe;" but whenthey are apart, they bite their fingers' ends at you, out of wrath.SAY: "Die in your wrath!" God truly knoweth the very recesses ofyour breasts.

If good befalleth you it grieveth them, and when ill lighteth onyou,they rejoice in it. But if ye be steadfast and fear God, their craftshall in no way harm you. For God is round about their doings.

And remember when thou didst leave thy household at early morn,that thou mightest prepare the faithful a camp for the war;37 Godheard, knew it

When two troops of you became full of anxious thoughts, and lostheart, and when God became the protector of both! In God, then,let the faithful trust.

God had already succoured you at Bedr, when ye were theweaker! Fear God, then, that ye may be thankful.

Then thou didst say to the faithful, "Is it not enough for you thatyour Lord aideth you with three thousand angels sent down fromon high?"

Aye: but ye if be steadfast and fear God, and the foe come uponyou in hot haste, your Lord will help you with five thousand angelsin their cognisances!38

This, as pure good tidings for you, did God appoint, that yourhearts might be assured for only from God, the Mighty, the Wise,cometh the Victory and that He might cut off the uttermost partof those who believed not, or cast them down so that they shouldbe overthrown, defeated without resource.

It is none of thy concern whether He be turned unto them inkindness or chastise them: for verily they are wrongful doers.

Whatever is in the Heavens and the Earth is God's! He forgivethwhom He will, and whom He will, chastiseth: for God isForgiving, Merciful.

O ye who believe! devour not usury, doubling it again and again!But fear God, that ye may prosper.

And fear the fire which is prepared for them that believe not; andobey God and the apostle, that ye may find mercy:

And vie in haste for pardon from your Lord, and a Paradise, vastas the Heavens and the Earth, prepared for the God-fearing.

Who give alms, alike in prosperity and in success, and who mastertheir anger, and forgive others! God loveth the doers of good.

They who, after they have done a base deed or committed a wrongagainst their own selves, remember God and implore forgivenessof their sins and who will forgive sins but God only? andpersevere not in what they have wittingly done amiss.

As for these! Pardon from their Lord shall be their recompense,and gardens 'neath which the rivers flow; for ever shall they abidetherein: And goodly the reward of those who labour!

Already, before your time, have examples been made! Traverse theearth, then, and see what hath been the end of those who treatprophets as liars.

This Koran is a manifest to man, and a guidance, and a warning tothe God-fearing!

And be not fainthearted, and be not sorrowful: For ye shall gainthe upper hand if ye be believers.39

If a wound hath befallen you, a wound like it hath already befallenothers: we alternate these days of successes and reverses amongmen, that God may know those who have believed, and that Hemay take martyrs from among you, but God loveth not thewrongful doers

And that God may test those who believe, and destroy the infidels.

Thought ye that ye should enter Paradise ere God had takenknowledge of those among you who did valiantly, and of thosewhosteadfastly endure?

Ye had desired death ere ye met it. But ye have now seen it andye have beheld it and fled from it!

Muhammad is no more than an apostle; other apostles havealready passed away before him: if he die, therefore,40 or be slain,will ye turn upon your heels?41 But he who turneth on his heelsshall not injure God at all: And God will certainly reward thethankful!

No one can die except by God's permission, according to the Bookthat fixeth the term of life.42 He who desireth the recompense ofthis world, we will give him thereof; And he who desireth therecompense of the next life, we will give him thereof! And we willcertainly reward the thankful.

How many a prophet hath combated those who had with themmany myriads! Yet were they not daunted at what befel them onthepath of God, nor were they weakened, nor did they basely submit!God loveth those who endure with steadfastness,

Nor said they more than this:43 "O our Lord! forgive us our sinsand our mistakes in this our work; and set our feet firm; and helpus against the unbelieving people." And God gave them therecompense of this world, and the excellence of the recompense ofthe next. For God loveth the doers of what is excellent.

O ye who have believed! if ye obey the infidels, they will causeyouto turn upon your heels,44 and ye will fall back into perdition:

But God is your liege lord, and He is the best of helpers.

We will cast a dread into hearts of the infidels because they havejoined gods with God without warranty sent down; their abodeshall be the fire; and wretched shall be the mansion of the evildoers.

Already had God made good to you His promise, when by Hispermission ye destroyed your foes, until your courage failed you,and ye disputed about the order,45 and disobeyed, after that theProphet had brought you within view of that for which yelonged.46

Some of you were for this world, and some for the next.47 Then,inorder to make trial of you, He turned you to flight from them, yethath He now forgiven you; for all-bounteous is God to thefaithful

When ye came up the height48 and took no heed of any one, whilethe Prophet in your rear was calling you to the fight! God hathrewarded you with trouble upon trouble, that ye might learn not tobe chagrined at your loss of booty, or at what befel you! God isacquainted with your actions.

Then after the trouble God sent down security upon you. Slumberfell upon a part of you: as to the other part their own passionsstirred them up to think unjustly of God with thoughts ofignorance! They said What gain we by this affair? SAY: Verilythe affair resteth wholly with God. They hid in their minds whatthey did not speak out to thee, saying, "Were we to have gainedaught in this affair, none of us had been slain at this place." SAY:Had ye remained in your homes, they who were decreed to be slainwould have gone forth to the places where they lie: in order thatGod might make trial of what was in your breasts, and mightdiscover what was in your hearts, for God knoweth the verysecrets of the breast.

Of a truth it was Satan alone who caused those of you to fail induty who turned back on the day when the hosts met, for some oftheir doings! But now hath God pardoned them; For God isForgiving, Gracious.

O ye who believe! be not like the infidels, who said of theirbrethren when they had travelled by land or had gone forth to war,"Had they kept with us, they had not died, and had not beenslain!" God purposed that this affair should cause them heartsorrow! God maketh alive and killeth; and God beholdeth youractions.

And if ye shall be slain or die on the path of God, then pardonfrom God and mercy is better than all your amassings;

For if ye die or be slain, verily unto God shall ye be gathered.

Of the mercy of God thou hast spoken to them in gentle terms.Hadst thou been severe and harsh-hearted, they would havebroken away from thee. Therefore, forgive and ask for pardon forthem, and consult them in the affair of war, and when thou artresolved, then put thou thy trust in God, for God loveth those whotrust in Him.

If God help you, none shall overcome you; but if He abandon you,who is he that shall help you when He is gone? In God, then, letthe faithful trust.

It is not the Prophet who will defraud you;49 But he who shalldefraud, shall come forth with his defraudings on the day of theresurrection: then shall every soul be paid what it hath merited,and they shall not be treated with injustice.

Shall he who hath followed the good pleasure of God be as he whohath brought on himself wrath from God, and whose abode shallbe Hell? and wretched the journey thither!

There are varying grades with God: and God beholdeth what yedo.

Now hath God been gracious to the faithful, when he raised upamong them an apostle out of their own people, to rehearse untothem his signs, and to cleanse them, and to give them knowledgeofthe Book and of Wisdom: for before they were in manifest error.

When a reverse hath befallen you,50 the like of which ye hadbeforeinflicted, say ye, "Whence is this?" SAY: It is from yourselves. ForGod hath power over all things.

And that which befel you on the day when the armies met, wascertainly by the will of God, and that he might know the faithful,and that he might know the hypocrites! And when the word was"Advance, fight on the path of God, or drive back the foe," theysaid, "Had we known how to fight, we would have followed you."Nearer were some of them on that day to unbelief, than to faith:

They said with their lips what was not in their hearts! But Godknew what they concealed,

Who said of their brethren while themselves sat at home,

"Had they obeyed us, they had not been slain." SAY: Keep backdeath from yourselves if ye speak truth.

And repute not those slain on God's path to be dead.51 Nay, alivewith their Lord, are they richly sustained;

Rejoicing in what God of his bounty hath vouchsafed them, filledwith joy for those who follow after them, but have not yetovertaken them, that on them nor fear shall come, nor grief;

Filled with joy at the favours of God, and at his bounty: and thatGod suffereth not the reward of the faithful to perish.

As to those who after the reverse52which befel them, respond toGod and the Apostle such of them as do good works and fearGod, shall have a great reward:

Who, when men said to them, "Now are the Meccans musteringagainst you; therefore fear them!" it only increased their faith,and they said, "Our sufficiency is God, and He is an excellentprotector."

They returned, therefore, with the favour of God, enriched by Him,and untouched by harm; and they followed what was well pleasingto God. And God is of great Munificence.

Only would that Satan 53 instil the fear of his adherents: Fear themnot, but fear me if ye are believers.

Let not those who vie in haste after infidelity grieve thee: Verilynot one whit shall they injure God! God will refuse them all part inthe life to come: a severe chastisement shall be their lot.

They truly who purchase infidelity at the price of their faith, shallnot injure God one whit! and a grievous chastisement shall betheir lot.

Let not the infidels deem that the length of days we give them isgood for them! We only give them length of days that they mayincrease their sins! and a shameful chastisement shall be their lot.

It is not in God to leave the faithful in the State in which they are,until he sever the bad from the good:

Nor is God minded to lay open the secret things to you, but Godchooseth whom he will of his apostles to know them.54 Believe,therefore, in God and his apostles: and if ye believe and fear God,a great reward awaiteth you.

And let not those who are niggard of what God hath vouchsafedthem in his bounty, think that this will be good for them Nay, itwill be bad for them

That of which they have been niggard shall be their collar on theday of the resurrection. God's, the heritage of the Heavens and ofthe Earth! And God is well-informed of all ye do.

Now hath God heard the saying of those who said: "Aye, God ispoor and we are rich."55 We will surely write down their sayings,and their unjust slaughter of the prophets; and and we will say,"Taste ye the torment of the burning.

This, for what your hands have sent before you; and because Godwill not inflict a wrong upon his servants!"

To those who say, "Verily, God hath enjoined us that we are not tocredit an apostle until he present us a sacrifice which fire out ofHeaven shall devour,"

SAY: Already have apostles before me come to you with miracles,and with that of which ye speak. Wherefore slew ye them? Tellme,if ye are men of truth.

And if they treat thee as a liar, then verily apostles have beentreated as liars before thee, though they came with clear proofs oftheir mission, and with Scriptures, and with the light-giving Book.

Every soul shall taste of death: and ye shall only receive yourrecompenses on the day of resurrection. And whoso shall scape thefire, and be brought into Paradise, shall be happy. And the life ofthis world is but a cheating fruition!

Ye shall assuredly be tried in your possessions and in yourselves.And many hurtful things shall ye assuredly hear from those towhom the Scriptures were given before you, and from those whojoin other gods with God. But if ye be steadfast, and fearGod this verily is needed in the affairs of life.

Moreover, when God entered into a convenant with those to whomthe Scriptures had been given, and said, "Ye shall surely make itknown to mankind and not hide it," they cast it behind their backs,and sold it for a sorry price! But vile is that for which they havesold it.

Suppose not that they who rejoice in what they have brought topass, and love to be praised for what they have notdone56 suppose not they shall escape the chastisement. Anafflictive chastisement doth await them,

For the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth is God's, and Godhath power over all things.

Verily, in the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth, and in thesuccession of the night and of the day, are signs for men ofunderstanding heart;

Who standing, and sitting, and reclining, bear God in mind, andmuse on the creation of the Heavens and of the Earth. "O ourLord!" say they, "thou hast not created this in vain. No. Glory beto Thee! Keep us, then, from the torment of the fire.

O our Lord! surely thou wilt put him to shame whom thou shaltcause to enter into the Fire, and the wrong-doers shall have noneto help them.

O our Lord! we have indeed heard the voice of one that called. Hecalled us to the ye on your Lord' and we have believed.

O our Lord! forgive us then our sin, and hide away from us ourevil deeds, and cause us to die with the righteous.

O our Lord! and give us what thou hast promised us by thineapostles, and put us not to shame on the day of the resurrection.Verily, Thou wilt not fail thy promise."

And their Lord answereth them, "I will not suffer the work of himamong you that worketh, whether of male or female, to be lost.Theone of you is the issue of the other.57

And they who have fled their country and quitted their homes andsuffered in my cause, and have fought and fallen, I will blot outtheir sins from them, and I will bring them into gardens beneathwhich the streams do flow."

A recompense from God! and God! with His is the perfection ofrecompense!

Let not prosperity in the land 58 on the part of those who believenot, deceive thee. 'Tis but a brief enjoyment! Then shall Hell betheir abode; and wretched the bed!

But as to those who fear their Lord for them are the gardens'neath which the rivers flow: therein shall they abide for aye. Suchtheir reception with God and that which is with God is best forthe righteous.

Among the people of the Book are those who believe in God, andin what He hath sent down to you, and in what He hath sent downto them, humbling themselves before God. They barter not thesigns of God for a mean price.

These! their recompense awaiteth them with their Lord: aye! Godis swift to take account.

O ye who believe! be patient, and vie in patience, and be firm, andfear God, that it may be well with you.

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1 Verses 1 87 probably belong to the period between the battle ofBedr and Hej. 6. Muhammad supposed Imran or Amran to be thefather of the Virgin Mary (Sura [cix.] lxvi. 12) Mary andElizabeth to be sisters; who, with Jesus, John, and Zacharias,make up the family of Imran. It is difficult to avoid the conclusionthat Muhammad is guilty of the anachronism of confoundingMiriam with the Virgin Mary. On the other hand is the difficulty ofconceiving that as the sequence of time and fact is observed withtolerable accuracy in regard to the main features of Jewish andChristian History, he should have fallen into so serious an error,or have so inadvertently adopted, as Mr. Muir supposes, thephraseology of his Jewish informants (amongst whom the onlywell-known Mary (Miriam) was the daughter of Imran and thesister of Moses) as to have overlooked the discrepancy in theirrespective dates. But it is possible that Muhammad believed, assome Muslim writers assert, that Miriam's soul and body weremiraculously preserved till the time of Jesus in order to becomeMary his mother. Certainly the Talmudists fabled that the Angel ofDeath and the worm of corruption had no power over Miriam.Comp. Babha Bathra, 17. Jos. Ant. iv. 4, 6.

7 That is, will ye receive Islam? The Ummiin, or common folk, theheathen Arabians destitute of Revelation. In the earliest extantbiography of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq, we find these wordsaddressed by Zaid, previous to the assumption of the propheticoffice by Muhammad, to the Koreisch. This is one of the factswhich shew that the way was to a great extent prepared for Islam.This whole address of Zaid's which contains not less than sixpassages afterwards repeated in the Koran may be seen in Dr.Sprenger's Life of M. p. 42. The instances of others who hadlearned to disbelieve in idolatry, and had either become Jews orChristians, or held their minds in suspense, might easily bemultiplied. Comp. Sharastani, p. 437. Masudi, ch. 6.

8 The King of the Kingdom, or, Lord of Might. This verse and thefollowing are either fragments of some lost Sura, or belonging toone of the Meccan Suras. At any rate, they are misplaced,interrupting as they do the connection of the preceding andsubsequent verses.

9 The wife of Imran is Hannah or Anne. Comp. Protev. Jac. iv.[greek text]. Evang. de Nat. Mar. 1: Voverunt tamen (Mari‘parentes) si forte donaret eis Deus sobolem, eam se Dni servitiomancipaturos. Although Muhammad had no direct access to theApocryphal Gospels, yet these may have influenced, or at any rate,contained much in common with, the ordinary traditions of S.Syria. And of this, the Immaculate Conception of the B. V. Mary,supposed by Gibbon (ch. 50) to have been "borrowed from theKoran," probably formed a part.

10 That is, the female could not become a priest.

11 See note, p. 114.

12 According to a tradition of Muhammad every new-born child istouched by Satan, with the exception of Mary and her Son,between whom and Satan God interposed a veil. (Djelal. Beidh.)Hence this passage may imply the Immaculate Conception of theB. V. Mary. See v. 37 below.

14 The word rendered descendants is a collective noun. Gerock (p.20) thinks that Zacharias' prayer was not for a son of his own, butfor an adopted son as, for instance, the future husband of Marywho might become his heir, and hence accounts for his surpriseand unbelief at the announcement of John.

15 Lit. chamber. By this may be meant an [greek text] of theTemple Comp. Luke i. 21.

18 These reeds, say the commentators, were written over withpassages from the law, and cast into Jordan. That of Zachariasalone swam, and was the token that the charge of Mary was todevolve on him. Others render, their divining arrows. See adetailed account of the manner in which this matter was settled by[greek text], virgae, in Protev. Jac. Thilo. p. 204. Hist. Nat. Mar.ib. p. 359 sqq.

19 Ar. El-Mesich Isa ben Mariam, illustrious in this world as aProphet, in the next as an Intercessor. Beidh.

22 Muhammad probably believed that God took the dead body ofJesus to Heaven for three hours according to some while theJews crucified a man who resembled him. Sura [c.] iv. 156. Theword motewaffika (comp. Sura [lxxx.] xxxix. 156) means, inspeaking of God, to cause to die, take to himself. It would alsoseem from Sura [lviii.] xix. 34, that Muhammad supposed Jesus tohave died a natural death, though it is nowhere said how long hecontinued in that state. The Muhammadans believe that Jesus onhis return to earth at the end of the world will slay the Antichrist,die, and be raised again. A vacant place is reserved for his body inthe Prophet's tomb at Medina. See Lieut. Burton's Pilgrimage,vol. ii.

23 Lit. verily the similitude or analogy of Isa is as the similitude oranalogy of Adam, i.e. neither of them had a human father.

24 This refers to an embassy from the Christians in Nedjran inArabia, with their Bishop, Abu Hareth, at their head, toMuhammad at Medina, who had now acquired political power.The embassy declined to be parties to the strange mode of settlingthe dispute here proposed, but consented to pay tribute oncondition of not being molested in their religion or lands.

25 If this be not a mere figure of speech, it must mean let us callover and curse the names, the persons being at a distance.

26 As the Christians do their Bishops and Priests.

27 Whether he were a Jew or Christian.

28 About Moses and Jesus, and their respective faiths.

29 See Sura xvi. 121, p. 209, note.

30 Muhammad insinuates that the claim to be equal with Godcould never have been made by Jesus himself, but by his followers,in ignorance of the Scriptures and of his true nature.

31 That is, to call them rabb a title due only to God.

32 Assembled on Mount Sinai. Compare the Jewish legend, thatallthe prophets, even those who were not yet born, were present onMount Sinai, when God gave the law to Moses. See ShemothRabba. Parashah 28, according to which, not only the Prophetsbut the Rabbis of every generation, were present at the giving ofthe Law.

33 Becca, place of crowding, i.e. Mecca. This sentence, togetherwith other Suras the Cave, Mary, Imran, Repentance, T, H, arewoven into the Kiswah or covering of the Caaba, which is renewedannually.

34 The Makam Ibrahim (praying place of Abraham) is a smallbuilding supported by six pillars about 8 ft. high, four of which aresurrounded from top to bottom by a fine iron railing, while theyleave the space between the two hind pillars open; within therailing is a frame about 5 ft. square, said to contain the sacredstone on which Ibrahim stood when he built the Caaba.Burckhardt. Lieut. Burton (Pilgrimage, iii. 336) says that as theArab tradition speaks clearly and consistently as to the fact ofAbraham having visited Mecca to build the Caaba, it may beconsidered an open question. Thus also Dr. G. W. Freytag (Einl.).

35 The Koran.

36 Or, they are smitten with. Sale. S'etendra comme une tente.Kas.

37 This probably refers to the battle of Ohod.

38 The Arabic word occurs at verse 13 of horses as known bycertain marks. So here these angels would be known by theiraccoutrements, etc.

39 This and the following verses to 154 were probably revealedshortly after the reverse of Ohod.

40 This verse and xxxix. 31 (p.257) were recited at Muhammad'sdeath by Abu Bekr, in order to convince Omar and the otherMuslims of the possibility of that event. It has been supposed thatthese passages were invented by Abu Bekr on this occasion, andinserted into the Koran. But this is more than doubtful. SeeN”ldeke, pp. 199 201.

41 That is, return to idolatry. A report had been spread in thebattle of Ohod that Muhammad had been slain.

42 Lit. according to a writing (i.e. of God) definite. The Rabbinsalso teach (Com. Tract. Rosch. Haschanah) that there are books inwhich God has written down the lifetime of every individual. Lit.No soul can die.

43 Lit. and their saying was no other than that they said.

44 To relapse into infidelity. The Koreisch attempted to seduce theMuslims to renounce their faith after the battle of Ohod.

45 The command to abstain from taking the spoils. Thisdisobedience turned the scale of victory against the Muslims.

46 Victory and plunder.

47 Some took to flight, others stood firm, and were not careful oftheir lives.

48 That is, in confused rout.

49 Muhammad had been accused of having secretly appropriateda portion of the spoil.

50 At Ohod.

51 See Sura [xci.] ii. 149.

52 At Ohod; lit. wound.

53 Lit. that Satan. Said to refer to Noaim, or Abu Sofian, theleader of the Koreisch.

54 This is an answer to the taunt that Muhammad could notdistinguish true believers from hypocrites.

55 This was the taunt of the Jews of the tribe of Kainoka, whenMuhammad demanded tribute of them in the name of God.

56 That is, who rejoice in their successful corruptions of their ownsacred books, especially the testimony of Moses to Muhammad,and in their own fancied righteousness. Thus some of thecommentators.

57 Lit. some of you are from others. These words were occasionedby one of the Prophet's wives having told him that God oftenpraised the men, but not the women, who had fled their country forthe faith. Beidh.

58 Lit. their movements, their comings and goings. Hence, thesuccess of the Meccans in their trading journeys. This may point tothe comparative freedom from trade and general independence ofthe Meccans after the affair at Ohod.

SURA LXI. BATTLE ARRAY [XCVIII.]

MEDINA. 14 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

ALL that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth praisethGod. He is the Mighty, the Wise!

Believers! why profess ye that which ye practise not?1

Most hateful is it to God that ye say that which ye do not.

Verily God loveth those who, as though they were a solid wall, dobattle for his cause in serried lines!

And bear in mind when Moses said to his people, "Why grieve yeme, O my people, when ye know that I am God's apostle untoyou?" And when they went astray, God led their hearts astray; forGod guideth not a perverse people:

And remember when Jesus the son of Mary said, "O children ofIsrael! of a truth I am God's apostle to you to confirm the lawwhich was given before me, and to announce an apostle that shallcome after me whose name shall be Ahmad!"2 But when he(Ahmad) presented himself with clear proofs of his mission, theysaid, "This is manifest sorcery!"

But who more impious than he who when called to Islam devisetha falsehood concerning God? God guideth not the wicked!

Fain would they put out the light of God with their mouths! butthough the Infidels hate it, God will perfect his light.

He it is who hath sent his apostle with guidance and the religion oftruth, that, though they hate it who join other gods with God, Hemay make it victorious over every other religion.

O ye who believe! shall I shew you a merchandise that shalldeliver you from the sore torment?

Believe in God and his apostle, and do valiantly in the cause ofGod with your wealth and with your persons! This, did ye butknow it, will be best for you.

Your sins will He forgive you, and He will bring you into gardensbeneath whose shades the rivers flow into charming abodes inthe gardens of Eden: This shall be the great bliss.

And other things which ye desire will he bestow, Help from Godand speedy conquest!3 Bear thou these tidings to the faithful.

O ye who believe! be helpers (ansars) of God; as said Jesus the sonof Mary to his apostles, "Who will come to the help of God?""We," said the apostles, "will be helpers of God." And a part ofthe children of Israel believed, and a part believed not. But to thosewho believed gave we the upperhand over their foes, and soon didthey prove victorious.

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1 Addressed to the Muslims who had turned their backs to theenemy at Ohod.

2 Muhammad had no doubt heard that Jesus had promised aParacletos, John xvi. 7. This title, understood by him, probablyfrom the similarity of sound, as equivalent to Periclytos, heapplied to himself with reference to his own name Muhammad(i.e. praised, glorified) from the same root and of the samemeaning as Ahmad, also one of the Prophet's names. It may behere remarked that the name Muhammad, if pronouncedMuhammed, "might be understood by an Arab in an active insteadof a passive sense." (Lane, Kor. p. 52.) Other passages of Scriptureunderstood by Muslims of their Prophet are Deut. xxxiii. 2, whereParan is said to mean Islam; Isai. xxi. 6, where the "rider on theass" is Jesus, the "rider on the camel" Muhammad; Matt. xx. 1-16,where the morning, noon, and even are Judaism, Christianity, andIslam; John iv. 21; 1 John iv. 2, 3, where Muhammad is said to be"the spirit that is of God," because he proclaimed that Jesus was atrue man and not God.

3 If this allude to a meditated attack on the Banu Nadir (see Sura[cii.] lix.) we have a clue to the probable date of the Sura. Thepromise, however, may be general. But the tone of verse 9evidently points to a period when, as at Medina, the prospects ofIslam were becoming hopeful.

SURA LVII. IRON [XCIX.]

MEDINA.1 29 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

ALL that is in the Heavens and in the Earth praiseth God, and Heis the Mighty, the Wise!

His the Kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth; He maketh aliveand killeth; and He hath power over all things!

He is the first and the last; the Seen and the Hidden;2 and Heknoweth all things!

It is He who in six days created the Heavens and the Earth, thenascended His throne. He knoweth that which entereth the earth,and that which goeth forth from it, and what cometh down fromHeaven, and what mounteth up to it; and wherever ye are, He iswith you; and God beholdeth all your actions!

His the kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth; and to God shall allthings return!

He causeth the night to pass into the day, and He causeth the day topass into the night: and He knoweth the very secrets of the bosom!

Believe in God and his apostle, and bestow in alms of that whereofGod hath made you heirs: for whoever among you believe and givealms their's shall be a great recompense.

What hath come to you that ye believe not in God, although theapostle exhorteth you to believe in your Lord, and He hathaccepted your alliance if ye are true believers?

He it is who hath sent down clear tokens upon His servant, that Hemay bring you out of darkness into light; and truly, Kind, Mercifulto you is God.

And what hath come to you that ye expend not for the cause ofGod? since the heritage of the Heavens and of the Earth is God'sonly! Those among you who contributed before the victory, andfought, shall be differently treated from certain others among you!Such shall have a nobler grade than those who contributed andfought after it. But a goodly recompense hath God promised to all;and God is fully informed of your actions.

Who is he that will lend a generous loan to God? So will Hedouble it to him, and he shall have a noble reward.

One day thou shalt see the believers, men and women, with theirlight running before them, and on their right hand.3 The angelsshall say to them, "Good tidings for you this day of gardensbeneath whose shades the rivers flow, in which ye shall abide forever!" This the great bliss!

On that day the hypocrites, both men and women, shall say tothose who believe, "Tarry for us, that we may kindle our light atyours." It shall be said, "Return ye back, and seek light foryourselves." But between them shall be set a wall with a gateway,within which shall be the Mercy, and in front, without it, theTorment. They shall cry to them, "Were we not with you?" Theyshall say, "Yes! but ye led yourselves into temptation, and yedelayed, and ye doubted, and the good things ye craved deceivedyou, till the doom of God arrived: and the deceiver deceived youin regard to God."

On that day, therefore, no ransom shall be taken from you or fromthose who believe not: your abode the fire! This shall be yourmaster!4 and wretched the journey thither!

Hath not the time come, for those who believe, to humble theirhearts at the warning of God and at the truth which he hath sentdown? and that they be not as those to whom the Scriptures weregiven heretofore, whose lifetime was prolonged, but whose heartswere hardened, and many of them were perverse?

Know that God quickeneth the earth after its death! Now have wemade these signs clear to you, that ye may understand.

Verily, they who give alms, both men and women, and they wholend a generous loan to God, doubled shall it be to them andthey shall have a noble recompense.

And they who believed in God and his apostle are the men of truth,and the witnesses in the presence of their Lord;5 They shall havetheir recompense and their light: But as for the infidels, and thosewho give the lie to our signs, these shall be the inmates of Hell.

Know ye that this world's life is only a sport, and pastime, andshow, and a cause of vainglory among you! And the multiplying ofriches and children is like the plants which spring up afterrain Their growth rejoiceth the husband-man; then they witheraway, and thou seest them all yellow; then they become stubble.And in the next life is a severe chastisement,

Or else pardon from God and His satisfaction: and this world'slife is but a cheating fruition.6

Vie in hasting after pardon from your Lord, and Paradise whoseoutspread is as the outspread of the Heaven and of the Earth:Prepared is it for those who believe in God and His apostles: Suchis the bounty of God: to whom He will He giveth it: and ofimmense bounty is God!

No mischance chanceth either on earth or in your own persons, butere we created them, it was in the Book;7 for easy is this toGod

Lest ye distress yourselves if good things escape you, and be overjoyous for what falleth to your share. God loveth not thepresumptuous, the boaster,

Who are covetous themselves and incite others to covetousness.But whose turneth away from almsgiving Ah! God is the Rich,the Praiseworthy.

We have sent our apostles with the clear tokens, and we havecaused the Book and the balance8 to descend with them, that menmight observe fairness. And we have sent down IRON. Dire evil9resideth in it, as well as advantage, to mankind! God would knowwho will assist Him and his apostle in secret. Verily, God isPowerful, Strong.

And of old sent we Noah and Abraham, and on their seedconferred the gift of prophecy, and the Book; and some of them weguided aright; but many were evil doers.

Then we caused our apostles to follow in their footsteps; and wecaused Jesus the son of Mary to follow them; and we gave him theEvangel,10 and we put into the hearts of those who followed himkindness and compassion: but as to the monastic life, they inventedit themselves. The desire only of pleasing God did we prescribe tothem, and this they observed not as it ought to have been observed:but to such of them as believed gave we their reward, though manyof them were perverse.

O ye who believe! fear God and believe in his apostle: twoportions of his mercy will He give you. He will bestow on youlight to walk in, and He will forgive you: for God is Forgiving,Merciful;

That the people of the Book may know that they have no controlover aught of the favours of God, and that these gifts of grace11 arein the hands of God, and that He vouchsafeth them to whom hewill; for God is of immense bounty.

_______________________

1 The general tone of this Sura shews it to have been revealed atMedina, and from verse 22 it may be inferred that its true date liesbetween the battle of Ohod and the battle of the Ditch.

2 Lit. the exterior and the interior.

3 To guide them on their route to paradise.

4 Patronus. Mar. Beschutzer. Ullm. Or, what ye have deserved.

5 Against the infidels.

6 Supellex deceptionis. Mar.

7 Of our eternal decrees.

8 Brought by Gabriel to Noah, who imparted its use to hisposterity. So say the commentators. But the expression seemsrather to be figurative. Comp. Sura lv. 6, p. 74.

10 We are not to understand by the word Evangel the actualvolume of the New Testament, or any one of its component parts,but rather the revelation made to Jesus by God himself, whichMuhammad may have imagined to have been committed to writingsubsequently, in the same way as his own Koran.

11 The word in the original is the same for favours, gifts of grace,bounty. The reference is to the gift of prophecy (Beidh.) mentionedverse 27.

SURA IV. WOMEN1 [C.]

MEDINA. 175 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

O MEN! fear your Lord, who hath created you of one man (nafs,soul), and of him created his wife, and from these twain hathspread abroad so many men and WOMEN. And fear ye God, inwhose name ye ask mutual favours, and reverence the wombsthat bare you. Verily is God watching over you!

And give to the orphans their property; substitute not worthlessthings of your own for their valuable ones, and devour not theirproperty after adding it to your own; for this is a great crime.

And if ye are apprehensive that ye shall not deal fairly withorphans, then, of other women who seem good in your eyes, marrybut two, or three, or four;2 and if ye still fear that ye shall not actequitably, then one only; or the slaves whom ye have acquired: thiswill make justice on your part easier. Give women their dowryfreely; but if of themselves they give up aught thereof to you, thenenjoy it as convenient, and profitable:

And entrust not to the incapable the substance which God hathplaced with you for their support; but maintain them therewith,and clothe them, and speak to them with kindly speech.

And make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage;and if ye perceive in them a sound judgment, then hand over theirsubstance to them; but consume ye it not wastefully, or by hastilyentrusting it to them;

Because they are growing up. And let the rich guardian not eventouch it; and let him who is poor use it for his support (eat of it)with discretion.

And when ye make over their substance to them, then takewitnesses in their presence: God also maketh a sufficient account.

Men ought to have a part of what their parents and kindred leave;and women3 a part of what their parents and kindred leave:whether it be little or much, let them have a stated portion.

And when they who are of kin are present at the division, and theorphans and the poor, let them too have a share; and speak to themwith kindly speech.

And let those be afraid to wrong the orphans, who, should theyleave behind them weakly offspring, would be solicitous on theiraccount. Let them, therefore, fear God, and let them propose whatis right.

Verily they who swallow the substance of the orphan wrongfully,shall swallow down only fire into their bellies, and shall burn inthe flame!

With regard to your children, God commandeth you to give themale the portion of two females; and if they be females more thantwo, then they shall have two-thirds of that which their fatherhathleft: but if she be an only daughter, she shall have the half; and thefather and mother of the deceased shall each of them have a sixthpart of what he hath left, if he have a child; but if he have no child,and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have the third:and if he have brethren, his mother shall have the sixth, afterpaying the bequests he shall have bequeathed, and his debts. As toyour fathers, or your children, ye know not which of them is themost advantageous to you. This is the law of God. Verily, God isKnowing, Wise!

Half of what your wives leave shall be your's, if they have noissue; but if they have issue, then a fourth of what they leave shallbe your's, after paying the bequests they shall bequeath, and debts.

And your wives shall have a fourth part of what ye leave, if yehave no issue; but if ye have issue, then they shall have an eighthpart of what ye leave, after paying the bequests ye shall bequeath,and debts.

If a man or a woman make a distant relation their heir, and he orshe have a brother or a sister, each of these two shall have a sixth;but if there are more than this, then shall they be sharers in a third,after payment of the bequests he shall have bequeathed, and debts,

Without loss to any one. This is the ordinance of God, and God isKnowing, Gracious!

These are the precepts of God; and whoso obeyeth God and hisprophet, him shall God bring into gardens beneath whose shadesthe rivers flow, therein to abide for ever: and this, the greatblessedness!

And whoso shall rebel against God and his apostle, and shall breakHis bounds, him shall God place in the fire to abide therein forever; and his shall be a shameful torment.

If any of your women be guilty of whoredom, then bring fourwitnesses against them from among yourselves; and if they bearwitness to the fact, shut them up within their houses till deathrelease them,4 or God make some way for them.

And if two men among you commit the same crime, then punishthem both; but if they turn and amend, then let them be: for God isHe who turneth, Merciful!

With God himself will the repentance of those who have done evilignorantly, and then turn speedily unto Him, be accepted. These!God will turn unto them:for God is Knowing, Wise!

But no place of repentance shall there be for those who do evil,until, when death is close to one of them, he saith, "Now verily amI turned to God;" nor to those who die unbelievers. These! we havemade ready for them a grievous torment!

O believers! it is not allowed you to be heirs of your wives againsttheir will; nor to hinder them from marrying, in order to take fromthem part of the dowry you had given them, unless they have beenguilty of undoubted lewdness; but associate kindly with them: forif ye are estranged from them, haply ye are estranged from that inwhich God hath placed abundant good.

And if ye be desirous to exchange one wife for another, and havegiven one of them a talent, make no deduction from it. Would yetake it by slandering her, and with manifest wrong?

How, moreover, could ye take it, when one of you hath gone inunto the other, and they have received from you a strict bond ofunion?

And marry not women whom your fathers have married: for this isa shame, and hateful, and an evil way: though what is past5 maybe allowed.

Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and yoursisters, and your aunts, both on the father and mother's side, andyour nieces on the brother and sister's side, and yourfoster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and the mothers of yourwives, and your step-daughters who are your wards, born of yourwives to whom ye have gone in: (but if ye have not gone in untothem, it shall be no sin in you to marry them;) and the wives ofyour sons who proceed out of your loins; and ye may not have twosisters; except where it is already done. Verily, God is Indulgent,Merciful!

Forbidden to you also are married women, except those who are inyour hands as slaves: This is the law of God for you. And it isallowed you, beside this, to seek out wives by means of yourwealth, with modest conduct, and without fornication. And givethose with whom ye have cohabited their dowry. This is the law.But it shall be no crime in you to make agreements over and abovethe law. Verily, God is Knowing, Wise!

And whoever of you is not rich enough to marry free believingwomen, then let him marry such of your believing maidens as havefallen into your hands as slaves; God well knoweth your faith. Yeare sprung the one from the other. Marry them, then, with the leaveof their masters, and give them a fair dower: but let them be chasteand free from fornication, and not entertainers of lovers.

If after marriage they commit adultery, then inflict upon them halfthe penalty enacted for free married women. This law is for himamong you who is afraid of doing wrong:6 but if ye abstain,7 it willbe better for you. And God is Lenient, Merciful.

God desireth to make this known to you, and to guide you into theways of those who have been before you, and to turn Him unto youin mercy. And God is Knowing, Wise!

God desireth thus to turn him unto you: but they who follow theirown lusts, desire that with great swerving should ye swerve! Goddesireth to make your burden light: for man hath been createdweak.

O believers! devour not each other's substance in mutualfrivolities;8 unless there be a trafficking among you by your ownconsent: and commit not suicide: of a truth God is merciful toyou.

And whoever shall do this maliciously and wrongfully, we will inthe end cast him into the fire; for this is easy with God.

If ye avoid the great sins which ye are forbidden, we will blot outyour faults, and we will cause you to enter Paradise withhonourable entry.

Covet not the gifts by which God hath raised some of you aboveothers. The men shall have a portion according to their deserts, andthe women a portion according to their deserts. Of God, therefore,ask his gifts. Verily, God hath knowledge of all things.

To every one have we appointed kindred, as heirs of what parentsand relatives, and those with whom ye have joined right hands incontract, leave. Give therefore, to each their portion. Verily, Godwitnesseth all things.

Men are superior to women on account of the qualities with whichGod hath gifted the one above the other, and on account of theoutlay they make from their substance for them. Virtuous womenare obedient, careful, during the husband's absence, because Godhath of them been careful.9 But chide those for whoserefractoriness ye have cause to fear; remove them into beds apart,and scourage them: but if they are obedient to you, then seek notoccasion against them: verily, God is High, Great!

And if ye fear a breach between man and wife, then send a judgechosen from his family, and a judge chosen from her family: ifthey are desirous of agreement, God will effect a reconciliationbetween them; verily, God is knowing, apprised of all!

Worship God, and join not aught with Him in worship. Be good toparents,10 and to kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and to aneighbour, whether kinsman or new-comer, and to a fellowtraveller, and to the wayfarer, and to the slaves whom your righthands hold; verily, God loveth not the proud, the vain boaster,

Who are niggardly themselves, and bid others be niggards, andhide away what God of his bounty hath given them. We have madeready a shameful chastisement for the unbelievers,

And for those who bestow their substance in alms to be seen ofmen, and believe not in God and in the last day. Whoever hathSatan for his companion, an evil companion hath he!

But what blessedness would be theirs, if they should believe inGod and in the last day, and bestow alms out of what God hathvouchsafed them; for God taketh knowledge of them!

God truly will not wrong any one of the weight of a mote; and ifthere be any good deed, he will repay it doubly; and from hispresence shall be given a great recompense.

How! when we shall bring up against them witnesses from allpeoples, and when we shall bring thee up as witness against these?On that day they who were Infidels and rebelled against theprophet, shall wish that the earth were levelled with them! Butnothing shall they hide from God.

O ye true believers,11 come not to prayer when ye are drunken, butwait till ye can understand what ye utter; nor when ye are polluted,unless ye be travelling on the road, until ye have washed you. If yebe sick, or on a journey, or have come from the unclean place, orhave touched a woman, and ye find not water, then rub pure sand,and bathe your face and your hands with it: verily, God is Lenient,Merciful.

Hast thou not remarked those12 to whom a part of the Scriptureshath been given? Vendors are they of error, and are desirous thatye go astray from the way. But God knoweth your enemies; andGod is a sufficient patron, and God is a sufficient helper!

Among the Jews are those who displace the words of theirScriptures, and say, "We have heard, and we have not obeyed.Hear thou, but as one that heareth not; and LOOK AT US;"13perplexing with their tongues, and wounding the Faith by theirrevilings.

But if they would say, "We have heard, and we obey; hear thou,and REGARD US;" it were better for them, and more right. ButGod hath cursed them for their unbelief. Few only of them arebelievers!

O ye to whom the Scriptures have been given! believe in what wehave sent down confirmatory of the Scripture which is in yourhands, ere we efface your features, and twist your head roundbackward, or curse you as we cursed the sabbath-breakers:14 andthe command of God was carried into effect.

Verily, God will not forgive the union of other gods with Himself!But other than this will forgive to whom He pleaseth. And He whouniteth gods with God hath devised a great wickedness.

Hast thou not marked those who hold themselves to be righteous?But God holdeth righteous whom He will; and they shall not bewronged the husk of a date stone.

Behold how they devise a lie of God! Therein is wickednessmanifest enough!

Hast thou not observed those to whom a part of the Scriptures hathbeen given?15 They believe in Djibt and Thagout, and say of theinfidels, "These are guided in a batter path than those who hold thefaith."

These are they whom God hath cursed: and for him whom Godhath cursed, thou shalt by on means find a helper.

Shall they have a share in the kingdom who would not bestow ontheir fellow men even the speck in a date stone?a

Envy they other men what God of his bounty hath given them? Wegave of old the Scriptures and wisdom to the line of Abraham, andwe gave them a grand kingdom:

Some of them believe on the prophet and some turn aside fromhim: the flame of Hell is their sufficing punishment!

Those who disbelieve our signs we will in the end cast into thefire: so oft as their skins shall be well burnt,16 we will change themfor fresh skins, that they may taste the torment. Verily God isMighty, Wise!

But as for those who have believed, and done the things that areright, we will bring being them into gardens 'neath which therivers flow therein to abide eternally; therein shall they havewives of stainless purity: and we will bring them intoaye-shadowing shades.

Verily, God enjoineth you to give back your trusts to their owners,and when ye judge between men, to judge with fairness. Excellentis the practice to which God exhorteth you. God Heareth,Beholdeth!

O ye who believe! obey God and obey the apostle, and thoseamong you invested with authority; and if in aught ye differ, bringit before God and the apostle, if ye believe in God and in the latterday. This is the best and fairest way of settlement.

Hast thou not marked those who profess that they believe in whathath been sent down to thee, and what hath been sent down beforethee? Fain would they be judged before Thagout, thoughcommanded not to believe in him; and fain would Satan makethem wander with wanderings wide of truth.

And when it is said to them, "Accede to that which God hath sentdown, and to the apostle," thou seest the hypocrites avert themfrom thee with utter aversion.

But how, when some misfortune shall fortune them, for theirprevious handywork? Then will they come to thee, swearing byGod, "We desire nothing but to promote good and concord!"

These are they whose hearts God knoweth. Therefore break offfrom them, and warn them, speak words that may penetrate theirsouls.

We have not sent any apostle but to be obeyed, it God so will: butif they, after they have sinned to their own hurt by unbelief, cometo thee and ask pardon of God, and the apostle ask pardon forthem, they shall surely find that God is He who turneth unto man,Merciful.

And they will not I swear by thy Lord they will not believe,until they have set thee up as judge between them on points wherethey differ. Then shall they not find in their own minds anydifficulty in thy decisions, and shall submit with entire submission.

Had we laid down such a law for them as "Kill yourselves, orabandon your dwellings," but few of them would have done it. Buthad they done that to which they were exhorted, better and it beenfor them, and stronger for the confirmation of their faith.

In that case we had surely given them from ourself a greatrecompense, and on the straight path should we surely have guidedthem.

And whoever shall obey God and the Apostle, these shall be withthose of the Prophets, and of the Sincere, and of the Martyrs, andof the Just, to whom God hath been gracious. These are a goodlyband!

This is the bounty of God; and in knowledge doth God suffice.

O ye who believe! make use of precautions; and advance indetachments, or , advance in a body.

There is of you who will be a laggard: and if a reverse befall youhe saith, "Now hath God dealt graciously with me, since I was notwith you in the fight:"

But if a success from God betide you, he will say, as if there hadnever been any friendship between you and him, "Would I hadbeen with them! a rich prize should I have won!"

Let those then fight on the path of God, who barter this present lifefor that which is to come; for whoever fighteth on God's path,whether he be slain or conquer, we will in the end give him a greatreward.

But what hath come to you that ye fight not on the path of God,and for the weak among men, women and children, who say, "Oour Lord! bring us forth from this city17 whose inhabitants areoppressors; give us a champion from thy presence; and give usfrom thy presence a defender."

They who believe, fight on the path of God; and they who believenot, fight on the path of Thagout: Fight therefore against thefriends of Satan. Verily craft of Satan shall be powerless!

Hast thou not marked those to whom it was said, "Withhold yourhands awhile from war; and observe prayer, and pay the statedalms." But when war is commanded them, lo! a portion of themfear men as with the fear of God, or with a yet greater fear, andsay: "O our Lord! why hast thou commanded us war? Couldst thounot have given us respite till our not distant end?" SAY: Small thefruition of this world; but the next life is the true good for himwho feareth God! and ye shall not be wronged so much as the skinof a date stone.

Wherever ye be, death will overtake you although ye be in loftytowers! If good fortune betide them, they say, "This is from God;"and if evil betide them, they say, "This is from thee." SAY: All isfrom God: But what hath come to these people that they are notnear to understanding what is told them?

Whatever good betideth thee is from God, and whatever betideththee of evil is from thyself; and we have sent thee to mankind asan apostle: God is thy sufficing witness.

Whoso obeyeth the Apostle, in so doing obeyeth God: and as tothose who turn back from thee, we have not sent thee to be theirkeeper.

Moreover, they say: "Obedience!" but when they come forth fromthy presence, a party of them brood by night over other than thywords; but God writeth down what they brood over: thereforeseparate thyself from them, and put thou thy trust in God. is asufficient protector!

Can they not consider the Koran? Were it from any other thanGod, they would surely have found in it many contradictions.

And when tidings, either of security or alarm, reach them, they tellthem abroad; but if they would report them to the apostle, and tothose who are in authority among them, those who desireinformation would learn it from them. But for the goodness andmercy of God towards you, ye would have followed Satan except afew!

Fight, therefore, on God's path: lay not burdens on any but thyself;and stir up the faithful. The might of the infidels haply will godrestrain, for God is the stronger in prowess, and the stronger topunish.

He who shall mediate between men for a good purpose shall be thegainer by it. But he who shall mediate with an evil mediation shallreap the fruit of it. And God keepeth watch over everything.

If ye are greeted with a greeting, then greet ye with a bettergreeting, or at least return it: God taketh count of all things.

God! there is no god but He! He will certainly assemble you on theday of resurrection. There is no doubt of it. And whose word ismore true than God's?

Why are ye two parties on the subject of the hypocrites, when Godhath cast them off for their doings? Desire ye to guide those whomgod hath led astray? But for him whom God leadeth astray, thoushalt by no means find a pathway.

They desire that ye should be infidels as they are infidels, and thatye should be alike. Take therefore none of them for friends, tillthey have fled their homes for the cause of God. If they turn back,then seize them, and slay them wherever ye find them; but takenone of them as friends or helpers,

Except those who shall seek and asylum among your allies, andthose who come over to you their hearts forbidding them tomake war on you, or to make war on their own people. Had Godpleased, he would have given them power against you, and theywould have made war upon you! But, if they depart from you, andmake not war against you and offer you peace, the God allowethyou no occasion against them.

Ye will find others who seek to gain your confidence as well asthat of their own people: So oft as they return to sedition, theyshall be overthrown in it: But if they leave you not, nor proposeterms or peace to you nor withhold their hands, then seize them,and slay them, wherever ye find them. Over these have we givenyou undoubted power.

A believer killeth not a believer but by mischance: and whosokilleth a believer by mischance shall be bound to free a believerfrom slavery; and the blood-money shall be paid to the family ofthe slain, unless they convert it into alms. But if the slain believerbe of a hostile people, then let him confer freedom on a slave whois a believer; and if he be of a people between whom andyourselves there is an alliance, then let the blood-money be paid tohis family, and let him set free a slave who is a believer: and lethim who hath not the means, fast two consecutive months. This isthe penance enjoined by God; and God is Knowing, Wise!

But whoever shall kill a believer of set purpose, his recompenseshall be hell; for ever shall he abide in it; God shall be wrathfulwith him, and shall curse him, and shall get ready for him a greattorment.

O believers! when ye go forth to the fight for the cause of God, bediscerning, and say not to every one who meeteth you with agreeting, "Thou art not a believer"18 in your greed after the chancegood things of this present life! With God are abundant spoils.Such hath been your wont in times past; but god hath beengracious to you. Be discerning, then, for God well knoweth whatye do.

Those believers who sit at home free from trouble, and those whodo valiantly in the cause of God with their substance and theirpersons, shall not be treated alike. God hath assigned to those whocontend earnestly with their persons and with their substance, arank above those who sit at home. Goodly promises hath He madeto all. But God hath assigned to the strenuous a rich recompense,above those who sit still at home,

Rank of his own bestowal, and forgiveness, and mercy; for God isIndulgent, Merciful.

The angels,19 when they took the souls of those who had beenunjust to their own weal, demanded, "What hath been yourstate?"20 They said, "We were the weak ones21 of the earth." Theyreplied, "Was not God's earth broad enough for you to flee awayin?" These! their home shall be Hell, and evil the passage to it

Except the men and women and children who were not able,through their weakness, to find the means of escape, and were notguided on their way. These haply God will forgive: for God isForgiving, Gracious.

Whoever flieth his country for the cause of God, will find in theearth many under like compulsion, and abundant resources; and ifany one shall quit his home and fly to God and his apostle, andthen death overtake him, his reward from God is sure: for God isGracious, Merciful!

And when ye go forth to war in the land, it shall be no crime in youto cut short your prayers,22 if ye fear lest the infidels come uponyou; Verily, the infidels are your undoubted enemies!

And when thou, O apostle! shalt be among them, and shalt praywith them, then let a party of them rise up with thee, but let themtake their arms; and when they shall have made their prostrations,let them retire to your rear: then let another party that hath notprayed come forward, and let them pray with you; but let themtake their precautions and their arms. Pleased would the infidels befor you to neglect your arms and your baggage, that they mightturn upon you at once! And it shall be no crime in you to lay downyour arms if rain annoy you, or if ye be sick. But take yourprecautions.23 Verily, God hath made ready a shameful torment forthe infidels.

And when ye shall have ended the prayer, make mention of God,standing, and sitting, and reclining: and as soon as ye are secure,observe prayer; for to the faithful, prayer is a prescribed duty, andfor stated hours.

Slacken not in pursuit of the foe. If ye suffer, assuredly they sufferalso as ye suffer; but ye hope from God for what they cannot hope!And God is Knowing, Wise!

Verily, we have sent down the Book to thee with the truth, thouthat mayest judge between men according as God hath given theeinsight: But with the deceitful ones dispute not: and implorepardon of God. Verily, God is Forgiving, Merciful.24

And plead not with us for those who are self-deceivers; for Godloveth not him who is deceitful, criminal.

From men they hide themselves; but they cannot hide themselvesfrom God: and when they hold nightly discourses which pleaseHim not, He is with them. God is round about their doings!

Oh! ye are they who plead in their favour in this present life; butwho shall plead with God for them on the day of the resurrection?Who will be the guardian over them?

Yet he who doth evil, or shall have acted against his own weal, andthen shall ask pardon of God, will find God Forgiving, Merciful:

And whoever committeth a crime, committeth it to his own hurt.And God is Knowing, Wise!

And whoever committeth an involuntary fault or a crime, and thenlayeth it on the innocent, shall surely bear the guilt of calumny andof a manifest crime.

But for the grace and mercy of God upon thee, a party among themhad resolved to mislead thee, but they shall only misleadthemselves; nor in aught shall they harm thee. God hath caused theBook and the wisdom to descend upon thee: and what thouknowest not He hath caused thee to know: and the grace of Godtoward thee hath been great.

In most of their secret talk is nothing good; but only in his whoenjoineth almsgiving, or that which is right, or concord amongmen. Whoso doth this, out of desire to please God, we will givehim at the last a great reward:

But whoso shall sever himself from the prophet after that "theguidance" hath been manifested to him, and shall follow any otherpath than that of the faithful, we will turn our back on him as hehath turned his back on us, and we will cast him into Hell; anevil journey thither!

God truly will not forgive the joining other gods with Himself.Other sins He will forgive to whom He will: but he who joinethgods with God, hath erred with far-gone error.

They call, beside Him, upon mere goddesses! they invoke a rebelSatan!

On them is the malison of God. For he said, "A portion of thyservants will I surely take, and will lead them astray, and will stirdesires within them, and will command them and they shall cut theears of animals;25 and I will command them, and they shall alterthe creation of God."26 He who taketh Satan rather than God forhis patron, is ruined with palpable ruin:

He hath made them promises, and he hath stirred desires withinthem; but Satan promiseth, only to beguile!

These! their dwelling Hell! no escape shall they find from it!

But they who believe and do the things that are right, we will bringthem into gardens beneath which the rivers flow; For ever shallthey abide therein. Truly it is the promise of God: And whose wordis more sure than God's?

Not according to your wishes, or the wishes of the people of theBook, shall these things be. He who doth evil shall berecompensed for it. Patron or helper, beside God, shall he findnone.

But whoso doth the things that are right, whether male or female,and he or she a believer, these shall enter Paradise, nor shall theybe wronged the skin of a date stone.

And who hath a better religion than he who resigneth himself toGod, who doth what is good, and followeth the faith of Abrahamin all sincerity? And God took Abraham for his friend.

All that is in the Heavens and all that is on the Earth is God's: andGod encompasseth all things!

Moreover, they will consult thee in regard to women: SAY: Godhath instructed you about them; and His will is rehearsed to you, inthe Book, concerning female orphans to whom ye give not theirlegal due, and whom ye refuse to marry; also with regard to weakchildren; and that ye deal with fairness towards orphans. Yecannot do a good action, but verily God knoweth it.

And if a wife fear ill usage or aversion on the part of her husband,then shall it be no fault in them if they can agree with mutualagreement, for agreement is best. Men's souls are prone to avarice;but if ye act kindly and fear God, then, verily, your actions are notunnoticed by God!

And ye will not have it at all in your power to treat your wivesalike, even though you fain would do so; but yield not wholly todisinclination, so that ye leave one of them as it were in suspense;if ye come to an understanding, and fear God, then, verily, God isForgiving, Merciful;

But if they separate, God can compensate both out of Hisabundance; for God is Vast, Wise;

And whatever is in the Heavens and in the Earth is God's! Wehave already enjoined those to whom the Scriptures were givenbefore you, and yourselves, to fear God. But if ye becomeunbelievers, yet know that whatever is in the Heavens and in theEarth is God's: and God is Rich, Praiseworthy.

All that is in Heaven and all that is in Earth is God's! God is asufficient protector!

If he pleased, he could cause you to pass away, O mankind! andcreate others in your stead: for this hath God power.

If any one desire the reward of this world, yet with God is thereward of this world and of the next! And God Heareth, Beholdeth.

O ye who believe! stand fast to justice, when ye bear witnessbefore God, though it be against yourselves, or your parents, oryour kindred, whether the party be rich or poor. God is nearer thanyou to both. Therefore follow not passion, lest ye swerve fromtruth. And if ye wrest your testimony or stand aloof, God verily iswell aware of what ye do.

O ye who believe! believe in God and his Apostle, and the Bookwhich he hath sent down to his Apostle, and the Book which hehath sent down aforetime. Whoever believeth not on God and hisAngels and his Books and his Apostles, and in the last day, heverily hath erred with far-gone error.

Verily, they who believed, then became unbelievers, then believed,and again became unbelievers, and then increased theirunbelief it is not God who will forgive them or guide them intothe way.

Announce27 to the hypocrites that a dolorous torment doth awaitthem.

Those who take the unbelievers for friends besides thefaithful do they seek honour at their hands? Verily, all honourbelongeth unto God!

And already hath He sent this down to you in the Book28 "WHENYE SHALL HEAR THE SIGNS OF GOD THEY SHALL NOT BEBELIEVED BUT SHALL BE MOCKED AT." Sit ye not thereforewith such, until they engage in other discourse; otherwise, ye willbecome like them. Verily God will gather the hypocrites and theinfidels all together in Hell.

They watch you narrowly. Then if God grant you a victory, theysay, "Are we not with you?" and if the infidels meet with asuccess, they say to them, "Were we not superior to you: and didwe not defend you from those believers?" God shall judge betwixtye on the day of the resurrection, and God will by no means makea way for the infidels over the believers.

The hypocrites would deceive God, but He will deceive them!When they stand up for prayer, they stand carelessly, to be seen ofmen, and they remember God but little:

Wavering between the one and the other belonging neither tothese nor those! and by no means shalt thou find a path for himwhom God misleadeth.

O believers! take not infidels for friends rather than believers.Would ye furnish God with clear right to punish you?

Verily the hypocrites shall be in the lowest abyss of the fire: and,by no means shalt thou find a helper for them;

Save for those who turn and amend, and lay fast hold on God, andapprove the sincerity of their religion to God; these shall benumbered with the faithful, and God will at last bestow on thefaithful a great reward.

Why should God inflict a chastisement upon you, if ye are grateful,and believe? God is Grateful, Wise!

God loveth not that evil be matter of public talk, unless any onehath been wronged: God it is who Heareth, Knoweth!

Whether ye publish what is good, or conceal it, or pardon evil,verily God is Pardoning, Powerful!

Of a truth they who believe not on God and his Apostles, and seekto separate God from his Apostles, and say, "Some we believe, andsome we believe not," and desire to take a middle way;

These! they are veritable infidels! and for the infidels have weprepared a shameful punishment.

And they who believe on God and his Apostles, and make nodifference between them these! we will bestow on them theirreward at last. God is Gracious, Merciful!

The people of the Book will ask of thee to cause a Book to comedown unto them out of Heaven. But a greater thing than this didthey ask of Moses! for they said, "Shew us God plainly!" and forthis their wickedness did the fire-storm lay hold on them. Thentook they the calf as the object of their worship, after that our cleartokens had come to them; but we forgave them this, and conferredon Moses undoubted power.

And we uplifted the mountain 29 over them when we made acovenant with them, and we said to them, "Enter the gateadoring:"and we said to them, "Transgress not on the Sabbath,"and we received from them a strict covenant.

So, for that they have broken their covenant, and have rejected thesigns of God, and have put the prophets to death unjustly, sayingthe while, "Our hearts are uncircumcised," Nay, but God hathsealed them up for their unbelief, so that but few believe.

And for their unbelief, and for their having spoken against Marya grievous calumny,

And for their saying, "Verily we have slain the Messiah, Jesus theson of Mary, an Apostle of God." Yet they slew him not, and theycrucified him not, but they had only his likeness.30 And they whodiffered about him were in doubt concerning him: No sureknowledge had they about him, but followed only an opinion, andthey did not really slay him, but God took him up to Himself. AndGod is Mighty, Wise!

There shall not be one of the people of the Book but shall believein Him before his death, and in the day of resurrection, He will bea witness against them.

For the wickedness of certain Jews, and because they turn manyfrom the way of God, we have forbidden them goodly viandswhich had been before allowed them.

And because they have taken usury, though they were forbidden it,and have devoured men's substance in frivolity, we have got readyfor the infidels among them a grievous torment.

But their men of solid knowledge, and the believers who believe inthat which hath been sent down to thee, and in what hath been sentdown before thee, and who observe prayer, and pay the alms ofobligation, and believe in God and the latter day, these! we willgive them a great reward.

Verily we have revealed to thee as we revealed to Noah and theProphets after him, and as we revealed to Abraham, and Isma‰l,and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and Jesus, and Job, and Jonah,and Aaron, and Solomon; and to David gave we Psalms.

Of some apostles we have told thee before: of other apostles wehave not told thee And discoursing did God discourse withMoses

Apostles charged to announce and to warn, that men, after thoseapostles, might have no plea against God. And God is Mighty,Wise!

But God is himself witness of what He hath sent down to thee: InHis knowledge hath He sent it down to thee. The angels are also itswitnesses: but God is a sufficient witness!

Verily, they who believe not and pervert from the way of God,have indeed erred with error wide of truth.

Verily, those who believe not, and act wrongfully, God will neverpardon, and never will he guide them on path,

Than the path to Hell, in which they shall abide for ever! And thisis easy for God.

O men! now hath an apostle come to you with truth from yourLord. Believe then, it will be better for you. But if ye believe not,then, all that is in the Heavens and the Earth is God's; and God isKnowing, Wise!

O ye people of the Book! overstep not bounds in your religion;31and of God, speak only truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, isonly an apostle of God, and his Word which he conveyed intoMary, and a Spirit32 proceeding from himself. Believe therefore inGod and his apostles, and say not, "Three:" (there is aTrinity) Forbear it will be better for you. God is only one God!Far be it from His glory that He should have a son! His, whateveris in the Heavens, and whatever is in the Earth! And God is asufficient Guardian.

The Messiah disdaineth not to be a servant of God, nor do theangels who are nigh unto Him.

And whoso disdaineth His service, and is filled with pride, Godwill gather them all to Himself.

And to those who believe and do the things that are right, will Hepay them their due recompense, and out of His bounty will Heincrease them: but as for those who are disdainful and proud, witha grievous chastisement will He chastise them;

And none beside God shall they find to protect or to help them.

O men! now hath a proof come to you from your Lord, and wehave sent down to you a clear light. As to those who believe inGod and lay fast hold on Him, these will He cause to enter into hismercy and grace, and along the straight way unto Himself will Heguide them.

They will consult thee. SAY: God instructeth you as to distantkindred. If a man die childless, but have a sister, half what he shallhave shall be her's; and if she die childless he shall be her heir.But if there be two sisters, two-third parts of what he shall haveshall be theirs; and if there be both brothers and sisters, the maleshall have the portion of two females. God teacheth you plainly,that ye err not! God knoweth all things.

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1 Most of the events alluded to in this Sura fall between the end ofthe third and the close of the fifth year after the Flight to Medina.

2 Muhammad assumed to himself the privilege of having a yetgreater number of wives. But in doing so, he was probablyactuated by a desire for male offspring. Chadijah was his only wifeuntil quite a late period of his career. Comp. Arbah Turim. Ev.Hazaer 1, "A man may marry many wives, for Rabba saith it islawful to do so, if he can provide for them. Nevertheless, the wisemen have given good advice, that a man should not marry morethan four wives." See also Yad Hachazakah Hilchoth Ishuth. 14, 3.

3 Verses 8 and 12 are said by the commentators to have beenrevealed in consequence of the complaints of Omm Kuhha that, inaccordance with the ante-Islamitic custom, she had been excludedfrom any portion of her deceased husband's property. Theunsatisfactory nature of the Muhammadan traditions may beinferred from the fact, that no less than six different names areassigned to him. It is, however, probable that these and similarlaws relative to inheritances were given at a time when manyheads of families had fallen, as at Ohod, in battle. This remarkapplies to verses 33 45.

4 Women found guilty of adultery and fornication were punishedat the first rise of Islam, by being literally immured. But this wasexchanged, in the case of a maiden, for one year's banishment and100 stripes; and in the case of a married woman, for stoning.

5 What took place in the times of ignorance, previous to therevelation of the Koran. See Freytag's Einl. p. 201, as to theincestuous nature of the ante-Islamitic Arabian marriages.

6 By marrying without means adequate to the support of a freewife, or by remaining single.

7 From marrying slaves.

8 Games of chance, usury, etc.

9 By providing for them a home and the protection of a husband.Or, of that which God would have them care for.

10 An undutiful child is very seldom heard of among theEgyptians, or the Arabs in general. Sons scarcely ever sit, or sit, oreat, or smoke, in the presence of the father unless bidden to do so;and they often wait upon him and upon his guests at meals and onother occasions: they do not cease to act thus when they havebecome men. Lane's Mod. Egypt. vol. i. p. 69.

11 The Koranic precepts as to prayer savour of Jewish origin.Thus, "Prayer should be said standing" is a Rabbinicprecept. Comp. Sura [xci.] ii. 240. Misch.Berachoth 10 maybe shortened in dangerous places, ib. iv. 10 is forbidden to thedrunken, ib. 31, 2. Erubin, 64 and to the polluted; Berachoth iii.4 and is to be preceded, in this case, by washings with water orsand. See Sura xvii. 110, note 2, p. 173. 1 Cor. xi. 21.

12 The Jews and their Rabbis.

13 See Sura [xci.] ii. 98.

14 Lit. the companions of the sabbath. See [xci.] ii. 61.

15 This refers to certain renegade Jews, who out of hatred againstMuhammad, went over to the Koreisch. See N”ldeke. p. 149.

16 Lit. ripened.

17 Mecca.

18 And therefore a fit subject for plunder.

19 Some of the Meccans after embracing Islam did not thoroughlybreak with the infidels and fly their country. These persons weremiraculously slain by angels at Bedr. Others suppose the angels tobe Nakir and Monkir, who examine the dead in the grave.

20 That is, to what religion did ye belong?

21 And therefore could not resist the unbelievers.

22 Thus the Rabbins Tr. Berachoth, iv. 4, "He that goeth in adangerous place may pray a short prayer."

23 See Mischna Tr. Berachoth, 10.

24 This verse is said to have been revealed when Muhammad wasabout to acquit a Muslim who had committed theft, and laid theguilt at the door of a Jew. But the particulars are given in a verycontradictory manner. See Noldeke, p. 151.

25 In allusion to an idolatrous and superstitious custom of the oldArabians.

26 By the mutilation of slaves, branding their bodies, filing theteeth, etc.

27 See Sura lxxxiv. 24, p. 47, note.

28 Sura vi.

29 See Sura [xci.] ii.7.

30 Lit.one was made to appear to them like (Jesus). Comp. [xcvii.]iii.48. Photius, Bibl. Cod. cxiv.says that the Apocr. Book, [Greektext] This individual according to the Basilidans was-Simon ofCyrene; according to the Evang. Barnab‘, Judas. Mani, Ep.Fund. ap. Evodium: "Princeps itaque tenebrarum cruci est affixus,idemque coronam spineam portavit."

31 By believing too much, like the Christians who regarded Jesusas God; or too little, like the Jews who would not believe onMuhammad.

32 That is, a Being possessing a Spirit.

SURA LXV. DIVORCE1 [CI.]

MECCA. 12 Verses

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

O PROPHET! when ye divorce women, divorce them at theirspecial times. And reckon those times exactly, and fear God yourLord. Put them not forth from their houses, nor allow them todepart, unless they have committed a proven adultery. This is theprecept of God; and whoso transgresseth the precept of God,assuredly imperilleth his own self. Thou knowest not whether,after this, God may not cause something new to occur which maybring you together again.

And when they have reached their set time, then either keep themwith kindness, or in kindness part from them. And take uprightwitnesses from among you, and bear witness as unto God. This is acaution for him who believeth in God and in the latter day. Andwhoso feareth God, to him will He grant a prosperous issue, andwill provide for him whence he reckoned not upon it.

And for him who putteth his trust in Him will God beall-sufficient. God truly will attain his purpose. For everything hathGod assigned a period.

As to such of your wives as have no hope of the recurrence of theirtimes, if ye have doubts in regard to them, then reckon threemonths, and let the same be the term of those who have not yethad them. And as to those who are with child, their period shall beuntil they are delivered of their burden. God will make Hiscommand easy to him who feareth Him.

This is God's command which He hath sent down to you: Whosofeareth God, his evil deeds will He cancel and will increase hisreward.

Lodge the divorced wherever ye lodge, according to your means;and distress them not by putting them to straits. And if they arepregnant, then be at charges for the them till they are delivered oftheir burden; and if they suckle your children, then pay them theirhire and consult among yourselves, and act generously: And ifherin ye meet with obstacles, then let another female suckle forhim.

Let him who hath abundance of his abundance; let him, too, whosestore is scanty, give of what God hath vouchsafed to him. Godimposeth burdens only according to the means which He hathgiven. God will cause ease to succeed difficulties.

How many cities have turned aside from the command of theirLord and of his apostles! Therefore did we reckon with them in asevere reckoning, and chastised them with a stern chastisement;

And they tasted the harmfulness of their own conduct: and the endof their conduct was ruin.

Believers! Now hath God sent down to you a warning! a prophet,who reciteth to you the clear signs of God, that he may bring thosewho believe, and do the things that are right, out of the darknessinto the light. And-whoso believeth in God, and doeth the thingsthat are right, God will cause them to enter the gardens beneathwhich the rivers flow, to remain therein for aye! A goodlyprovision now hath God made for him.

It is God who hath created seven heavens and as many earths.3 TheDivine command cometh down through them all, that ye mayknow that God hath power over all things, and that God in hisknowledge embraceth all things!

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1 Comp. Sura [xci.] ii. 228, which this Sura is perhaps intended tosupplement. Wahidi and Beidhawi state that it was revealed onaccount of Ibn Omar who had divorced his wife at improper time,and was obliged to take her again.